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Samwu distances itself from faction-signed MOU with City of Johannesburg

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Thursday, 12 September 2019 15:53

The Star reports that a faction of the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) has set itself on a collision course with the City of Johannesburg’s mayor Herman Mashaba following his decision to recognise another rival group.

Last month, Mashaba and the rival Samwu members entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in which both agreed to resolve disputes on all labour-related matters, including strike actions. However, general secretary Koena Ramotlou on Tuesday noted that his union’s special central executive committee (SCEC) meeting held at the weekend had been informed of the MOU signed “by individuals purporting to be representing Samwu and the City of Johannesburg”. He said that the SCEC considered the agreement “as non-binding to the union” and as such supported the intentions by its members in the City of Johannesburg to declare a dispute over the MOU. “We reaffirm that a strike is a constitutional right of workers and as such cannot be taken away from our members through the signing of MOUs. We, therefore, distance the union from this personal arrangement with the City of Johannesburg, as it contradicts the prescripts of the Labour Relations Act and is not in the interest of municipal workers, and our members in particular,” Ramotlou indicated. The city declined to comment on his statements.